SpaceX completes orbital gymnastics..Sticks the Landing

[Don1]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/12/20...status-center/

Murda

[Islandman]

Noice! Great to see some excitement being generated for space travel once again.

[Islandman]

https://youtu.be/O5bTbVbe4e4?t=1946

[Don1]

Yep...saw it live on Spaceflight's livestream

[Mosiah]

You've all fallen for yet another space hoax.

If you look at the countdown clock the time is going backwards. All they have done is reverse the lift off video and claim it was the touchdown.

There are surfaces in New Mexico that look just like the lunar surface.

Stay woke, people!

[Don1]

You've all fallen for yet another space hoax.

If you look at the countdown clock the time is going backwards. All they have done is reverse the lift off video and claim it was the touchdown.

There are surfaces in New Mexico that look just like the lunar surface.

Stay woke, people!

LOL!!

[Mosiah]

Made you go back and check the clock, don't?

[Islandman]

LOL.

[Islandman]

Reverse the rocket going at incredible speed and bring it back down through the atmosphere back to right beside where it took off.

Its a rhatid thing dem do, although it sounds conceptually simple.

[Don1]

I don't think it's the orbital maneuvers which are that complicated. Yes it's going fast in orbit...but since space is a vacuum there's no friction so maneuvering vernier engines handle vehicle re-positioning quite easily

I think it's managing the hardware/software combo through the atmospheric re-entry and the control laws/algorithms managing the terminal descent/landing phase which are very tricky

Quite an impressive feat for such a young & lean organization However the REALLY BIG challenges lie ahead:

* Man-rating the orbital stack i.e. making it safe for humans initially

* Proving that re-usable engines & first stage are safe/reliable for multiple launches/recovery

I wouldn't bet against Musk....the modern day Thomas Edison

[Islandman]

Yes its navigating the atmosphere that is the most difficult part. Most of the mishaps in space travel have occurred while leaving or re-entering the atmosphere because of the intense heat and pressure generated by travelling at those speeds in that phase of the trip.

Still a long way to go but sometimes the mental hurdle of knowing it is possible makes all the difference. Many people in the industry didn't think it would be possible, especially from a private and relatively new company like Space X.

BTW you ever check out the HyperLoop thing that Musk also had a role in conceptualizing? Now that one definitely sound like something from the Jetsons, but there seems to be so much money out there right now looking for these longshot but potentially transformative ideas that you never know what may happen.

[Don1]

Yep his Hyperloop concept is pretty amazing fi choo

[Mosiah]

Musk or Bezos, can we really compare them to Thomas Edison?

Settle down, Don1!

[Don1]

Musk or Bezos, can we really compare them to Thomas Edison?

Settle down, Don1!

Absolutely...wuss since Edison tief nuff man invention an' kall dem fi im own

Including the brilliant Black man Lewis Latimer who perfected the filament

Mi naw talk Bezos doh...definitely a master biz process innovator & entrepreneur...but he aint no Musk

[Islandman]

Musk is quite the innovator. If even two of Tesla Motors, Space X, Gigafactory , Hyperloop and Solar City lives up to their full potential he will be in VERY rare company indeed. One who revolutionized one or more industries.

Also, as accomplished as Edison was, lets not forget that he had JP Morgan as his backer, and they were both more than willing to destroy any and every other competitor. Their collective effort to crush the adaptation of alternating current is perhaps the best example of this. Personally I think Nikola Tesla was way more brilliant than Edison.